Still like to flip pages? Digital version of our magazines available

Making a digital version of the Hometown Value Guide available has never been easier thanks to services such as www.issuu.com. However, research into Paper vs. Screen effectiveness for magazines continues to shed new insights in to why and how these seemingly opposing media effect us. 

I recently read an article which delved into an important question: How exactly does the technology we use to read change the way we read? Reading on screens differs from reading on paper and is relevant to just about everyone who reads. Even though e-readers and tablets are becoming more popular as such technologies improve, research suggests that reading on paper still boasts unique advantages.

Take a look at this fascinating article from Scientific American:
The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens

4 Direct Mail Statistics You Can't Ignore

http://themoreyouknowbandb.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/4-direct-mail-statistics-you-cant-ignore/

SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING MANY HAVE OVERLOOKED…STATISTICS!

1.  Major corporations like Disneyland, Bank of America and Time Warner Cable love direct mail! “Direct mail ranked as the number one (88%) planned marketing channels..., followed by web/micro-site, email, and social media.” 

2.  Direct mail, compared to other marketing endeavors, has the highest rate of gaining new customers. “For customer acquisition, direct mail (34%) topped email (25%), search engine marketing (10%), and affiliate marketing (8%), with 23% of respondents citing a variety of other channels.” 

3. Direct mail has potential for huge returns on investment. “US advertisers spend an average of $167 per person on direct mail to earn $2,095 worth of goods sold, giving them a 1300% return.” 

4. The paper used for direct mail is green. “Nearly 80% of U.S. paper mills use recovered fiber to make some or all of their products. About 140 mills use recovered paper exclusively.”

How do I know direct mail works?

From time to time our advertisers will write a note and tell us their experience of getting new customers from their investment in the Hometown Value Guide direct mailed magazine program. This always makes us smile, reminding us of one of the reasons why we love what we do :)

Album of some offers and coupons from November 2012 HVG magazine mailing

Take a look at a some of the current coupons offered by businesses in Asheville, NC and Hendersonville, NC.

Album of Coupons from November HVG mailing

Direct Marketing Consumer Survey: “We Prefer Direct Mail”

December 1, 2011 -- According to marketing firm Epsilon Targeting’s latest Consumer Channel Preference Study of nearly 5,000 North American consumers, 50% of U.S. consumers prefer direct mail to email, and the same can be said for nearly as many Canadians.

    

The study, entitled “The Formula For Success: Preference and Trust,” finds that direct mail continues to deliver as consumers’ preferred means of receiving marketing messages from brands, with six out of 10 Americans and even more Canadians say they “enjoy getting postal mail from brands about new products.”

    

The 2011 research shows that despite direct mail’s reputation for being “old school” or expensive, it is the top choice of U.S. and Canadian consumers for the receipt of brand communications in almost every category, ranging from “health to household products, to household services, insurance and financial services,”  Also of note, “the preference for direct mail also extends to the 18-34 year old demographic.”

    

Additional Key Findings: 

• Compared to Epsilon 2010 survey of consumer channel preferences, 10% of U.S. respondents say they used Facebook to research and review product information, a 66% growth from six percent in 2010.

    

• With this said, approximately a third of U.S. and Canadian survey respondents (33% U.S. and 31% Canadian) don’t find ads on social media sites useful. 

    

• Across all key verticals – from financial and insurance to retail and personal care - direct mail is preferred to email by all respondents. 

    

• Nearly 4 out of 10 (37%) U.S. consumers and 29% of Canadians use TV daily to get consumer product information, down from 43% and 35% respectively in 2010

    

• In the U.S., 75% of consumers say they get more email than they can read; 61% of Canadians express the same sentiment.

    

The study suggests that brands should use a variety of channels to build relationships, starting with trusted channels like direct mail.

    

Warren Storey, VP of product marketing and insight at Epsilon Targeting, said the findings are not all that unexpected when “you know the data and consumer trends.”  He is quoted as saying: 

    

“It’s just ‘surprising’ because everything you hear in the media is basically counter to what the consumers are actually telling us, which is that direct mail is still the preferred channel,” and “direct mail is one of those mediums that is always quietly there in the background doing a great job.”

    

“The key learning from this study is that marketers should recognize consumer preferences and establish a trustworthy relationship across a variety of channels,” said Storey. “Consumers appreciate brands that pay attention to their interests and stated preferences.”

Source:  Epsilon, The Formula For Success: Preference and Trust, 2011.